THE ARTS IN NEW YORK CITY

All right, I’m not going to lie to anyone…I totally fell asleep during Pamina Devi. =/ I couldn’t help it!! It was cold, it was dark, I could hardly see the subtitles, I was hungry, and I had one and a half hours of sleep the night before trying to finish a five page (plus research) essay for my William Blake class. Now, can you really blame me?

For the first fifty minutes that I was awake, however, and the subsequent twenty that came after my wondrous ten minute nap, I’d have to say that I really honestly fell in love with the lost art. I know, I know. It was “BORING.”– I believe this was the general sentiment of the class after leaving the show. However, I also happen to think that this sentiment was due to the fact that we did not understand the language it was in, and the subtitles were, at times, barely discernible. Furthermore, the theater was really really excruciatingly FREEZING thereby making it ten times more difficult to concentrate. I know I couldn’t. That does not mean, however, that the art of Cambodian dance is boring or that every experience of the art will be similar to this one. On the contrary, I think the dances were magnificently carried out and beautifully orchestrated. Indeed, the flexibility of the dancers, the poise, the balance, the meticulous execution of each move, and the charismatic costumes were really a feat to behold.

My favorite aspect of the dance was the fact that the dancers never expressed much emotion or never truly physically embraced (I say truly because there were scenes in which they touched, but these scenes were lacking a genuine proximity that could only originate in a true embrace). It is my favorite because it was different. I had never seen anything like it. The entire play revolved entirely around their movements and expression and message revolved entirely around the movement of their feet, the movement of their hands and arms in relation with their fellow dancers. It was very interesting to witness the power of each move and how, even though their faces did not show it, and even though, at times, they did not even touch, their actions still induced within the viewer a suspenseful feeling, a combative feeling, a romantic feeling. Even though I do admit that I fell asleep and that the play felt slightly drawn out, I think it was an overall success and I am glad for the revitalization of such a majestic culture and a microcosm of aesthetic potential.

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Now, as for Rembrandt and Ms. Orenstein at the MET, I thought it was a truly wonderful and exciting experience to go behind the scenes at such a prestigious museum as the MET and be able to look at a full spectrum of Rembrandt in all his light.  I thought Ms. Orenstein did a great job with expounding upon the works, their similarities and contrasts with other works of his time, the techniques and skills used, and  the absolute genius behind them. It gave us a chance to delve into the time period and the mentality of the Age of Rembrandt in detail and introspection. Each piece of artwork she showed us had its own story and had its own life and they were lovely indeed.

Furthermore, Ms. Orenstein was able to provide us with an inside peek at what the job of a curator is at any given museum and her own personalized perspectives on the job and on the works of art (For instance, when she told us what her favorite part was, designing the layout for an exhibition, I felt it was nice to share that with us). She was also able to answer many of the questions I asked her in a very detailed and thorough manner and I left the scene feeling very much enlightened about the art of Rembrandt (and art in general) as well as what it means to be a curator.

Thus, I would just like to take this opportunity to say, Thank you Ms. Orenstein for doing your job and doing it well!

This entry was posted on Sunday, October 14th, 2007 at 11:54 pm and is filed under